Fuel filter

[JJMiller]

I changed my fuel filter at 15000 miles the other day. When I pulled the thing out, the old filter was a nasty purple-black-ish color. Is this normal?



This is the first filter change. I've never used off-road diesel or kero, nor any fuel additives (including biocide/fungicide, which I'm thinking now might have been a wise thing to do... . )



Thanks,



--J

 

[EMDDIESEL]

Sounds like it was probably just dye stains from different fuel, i would not worry. What you dont want is a slimy filter, thats a bad sign.

 

[Evan A. Beck]

Sounds normal to me...



Doesn't hurt to change the fuel filter more often than once every 15,000 miles. I do mine at every oil change, which is every 10,000 miles. Fuel filters are cheap, so do it at least every 15,000.



On a side note, I have seen a few trucks with 50,000 and on the original filter... One truck in particular had 71,000 on it. It was a '99 2500, and was on it's original filter. When I pulled the filter out, it was black as night, and was dripping a disgusting fluid which resembled dirty motor oil.

 

[HC]

I was driving with about 14,500 on my last filter, when it started cutting out on hills. My first thought was "oh no, the dreaded lift pump failure". Then I remembered the filter was nearing 15k; changed it, and she ran fine again. The strange part is that a friend buys fuel at the same Flying J, has 20k on his filter with no problems. He doesn't use additives; I do.



I second the motion for changing the filters at 10k.

 

[Steve M]

Say fellers,

I'm new to this 24v bliss. Every time I look under the hood or the rest of the truck for that matter, I like it even more! When I drive it, well... the Mrs might aught to be alittle jealous!

I noticed the fuel filter is different from my 98 12v. Is it really as simple as it looks? Remove the top and the filter cartridge lifts out and drop the new one in? My '95 wasn't too bad but my '98 left me looking like the cat went ballistic on my arms to change a fuel filter.

I'll go along with more frequent changes with the 24v as the injection pump is lubricated with diesel fuel and fuel pressure is more critical than the P7100 for proper operation. I went as much as 20k with the 98 and I could tell the difference when I changed it.

 

[Thomas]

It's really that simple!

 

[Archive]

Yep, its that simple. But the dodge dealers will charge you about $95. 00 to change it out!

 

[Steve M]

Fantastic! I'll be changing it out myself so it'll only be the cost of the filter. At PepBoys I saw a Purolator fuel filter for my '98 that looked like the same manufacturer as the Mopar unit but about $10 less. It even has the same bag and instructions. I skipped over it for the Mopar filter just in case looks are deceiving.

Every time I open the hood or look under it I find another big improvement over my two previous Dodge/Cummins. Does it ever end!

 

[Evan A. Beck]

Whatever you do, AVOID buying the fuel filters from Dodge. They will rip you off to the tune of about $50.



I get my Fleetguard units at Cummins for about $10 each. Buy a case, and they are even cheaper!



10K in my opinion, is just right for fuel filter changes.

 

[1tuffram]

I second what Evan said. The filters Dodge sells for our Cummins are Fleetguard filters with the Mopar name on them, and sold at a considerable mark-up price over what Cummins sells the same filter for. I purchase all my fuel filters from Cummins and most of the time I get them for "fleet" price. When they tell me the price I usually say, HMMM seems a little high, think it was cheaper the last time I was in. They will usually say "how about if I give it to you for fleet price". Usually getting the filter at fleet price works out to around the same price as it would be from Geno's + shipping cost.



PS: anyone know if the oil filters sold at the dealerships are standard paper or StrataPore? I know for my '95, Dodge was selling the standard ol' paper filter for about twice what the Microglass filter cost at Cummins.



In my opinion STAY AWAY from the Dodge dealer parts dept and go directly to Cummins or a Bosch shop for all your filter and parts needs (with the exception to those "dealer only" parts). This will save you a whole lot of $$$.

 

[DAWG-1]

I changed mine at 6500 miles the first time. WOW, what a simple job. I noticed the truck running a little different. 10 minutes and tha included talking to my neighbors buddy. Just bump the starter to get the lift pump to cycle a couple of time and it will fire right up. Sam

 

[HC]

Is it really as simple as it looks? Remove the top and the filter cartridge lifts out and drop the new one in?

Yes, it is. One tip - take your time, on mine, the threads on the cap are easy to cross-thread. I think mine has some problems on the casing threads that make the lid especially prone to cross-threading, because most are not seeing this problem. But don't hesitate to do it yourself - really easy, and you KNOW you'll be more careful to avoid dropping dirt into the opening than any non-owner mechanic on a schedule!

 

[Dane]

I did my first at 10K and it had some of the UBYS in like you saw. I definitely will be doing fuel filters @ 10k in the future. Seems like cheap insurance when protecting injectors.

 

[EMDDIESEL]

The Mopar filters are NOT Stratapore's. I already compared them and they are definatley not the same.

 

[Barnstormer]

Just bought a Mopar fuel filter for my ETH. Good news: It WAS a Fleetguard Stratapore. Bad news: I paid $53. 00 for it. Won't make that mistake again.

 

[DASH]

IT's easy!

Just changed my filter today with 8K. I was all worried about the thing not starting, etc. It was easy. Unscrewed the cap with a 1 1/8" socket, pulled out the old filter, put on the new one, drained out the filter canister, poured fresh fuel back in and screwed it back on, bumped the starter and them fired it right up. The filter looked clean, think I'll wait another 10K before I repeat this process. This is easy money for a Dodge mechanic, that's why I did it myself.

 

[ROCK KRIES]

My last filter change was a year ago, my primer fuel is still in my 1 gallon can and probably bad by now. Instead of the hassel of getting rid of the old fuel and getting new for priming, can I just open the drain,turn the key and let the lift pump prime the filter. This almost seems like a better idea than putting unfiltered fuel in the canister which could get dirt in the pump or injector!!

 

[DASH]

Hey Rocks Ride

I would just toss that old fuel you have. As I appreciate your detail and caution on dumping unfiltered fuel back in the cannister, I wouldn't worry about it- as long as you are sure it is clean, you could even filter it yourself through a coffee filter or something , I know kinda a pain in the butt, I just used a clean mason jar and filled it up from a bulk tank that I have (filtered). I would imagine you could CLOSE the valve on your cannister and bump the key and the lift pump would fill it up for you just fine!

 

[DarrellB]

Don't now what kind of dodge dealers you guys have but I just bought a fuel filter from dodge about an hou ago and it was only $36. 48. Thats alot better than 50 bucks but I still like the $10 cummins price going to call them tomorrow. Still pretty new to this site but I love it .





Later

Darrell

 

[Sky]

Yup I pay 11. 27 from Cummins. Still 3-5 times cheaper than Dodge.